BIG PLAY BREAKDOWNInside some of the biggest plays in TexasBig Play Breakdown: Houston DB Howard Wilson’s INT return TD vs. CincinnatiThe PlayThe Result

This caused mass exodus from the Cin-cinnati stadium as Houston would go onto a 40-16 win. This is the icing on thecake of a tremendous fourth quarter thatpushed the Coogs to the No. 6 spot in theAP rankings. The Cougars got a scare, butultimately escaped unbeaten with CollegeFootball Playoff hopes intact.

The Setup

Houston has not looked great for long stretch-es of this game, but they’re starting to pullaway, having taken the lead on a Greg WardJr. touchdown run earlier and followed itwith a Steven Taylor interception return for atouchdown. Now leading 33-16, Houston’sdefense takes the field looking for more.

Inside the Play

Cincinnati — playing with their backup quar-terback Ross Trail — comes out in 11 person-nel, meaning they have a running back, a tightend, and three wide receivers. Houston coun-ters with six defensive backs, playing what isessentially a 3-2-6 defense, determined to notgive up any sort of a big play. Trail takes thesnap and the routes develop — the left out-side receiver runs a go route, the left insidereceiver runs about a 6-yard out route, and theright receiver runs some sort of route that isoff-screen. Ross Trail thinks the Cougars are inman coverage. Ross Trail is incorrect.

What You Didn’t Notice

The coverage isn’t man — it’s a staggeredzone, with a couple deep men playing Cover2 and the linebackers and the rest of the de-fensive backs sinking to medium depth intotheir own zone. This is a tremendous read byHoward Wilson, who determines where theball is going to be thrown and breaks on theball. And he can take this risk — he knowsthat if he bites on a pump fake and the manclosest to him gets behind him, he’s got safe-ty Khalil Williams over the top to help him.But Wilson guesses right, comes up with apick, and there’s no one between him andthe end zone.